Tariffs & Customs

The United States is preparing a 7.5% tariff on Chinese goods under a Section 301 excess capacity investigation, a step that would lift replacement duties to the 20% ceiling Beijing says Washington agreed to. Officials want the findings published before the September 24 summit in Washington.

Canada will apply 15%, 25% and 50% counter-tariffs to C$27.6 billion of US goods from 12:01 a.m. on September 8, 2026, with furniture and clothing in the top band. Retailers have a two-week window to pull US-origin inventory across the border before the surtax bites.

CBP will begin voiding importer of record numbers on September 18, 2026 when CBP Form 5106 data is inaccurate or incomplete, with entries stopping immediately. The notice is the first concrete step under Executive Order 14411 and hits cross-border e-commerce sellers hardest.

Dollar Tree reports second quarter results before the open on August 27, with consensus at $4.85bn in sales and $1.11 adjusted EPS. The flat 34.4% gross margin line, not the 44% EPS growth headline, is where the tariff math shows.

Dollar General reports second quarter fiscal 2026 results on August 27, with consensus near $11.19 billion in net sales and $2.01 in diluted EPS. The number that is not in guidance is whatever the retailer recovers from the tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February.

US Customs and Border Protection switches on Entry Type 13, its first electronic entry type for international mail, in ACE production on September 22, 2026. A second deadline on October 22 pushes free trade agreement claims, Chapter 98 and 99 goods and partner-agency merchandise out of the simplified postal process entirely.

The United States imposed 50% Section 338 tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods at midnight on August 22 after trade talks collapsed minutes before the deadline. Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended negotiations and pledged to match the duties dollar for dollar.

The Commerce Department has proposed adding 14 product groups to the Section 232 aluminum, steel and copper tariffs, most at 25%. Public comments close August 27, 2026, and the list reaches consumer shelf goods including fire extinguishers, propane cylinders and extension cords.

Walmart said it received close to $2.9 billion in IEEPA tariff refunds during its fiscal second quarter and channelled the money into more than 11,000 price rollbacks. The windfall lifted operating income 28.8%, yet the shares fell about 9% as US comparable sales slowed to their weakest pace in roughly six years.

A 50% additional duty on a wide band of Canadian goods takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on August 19, 2026, imposed through the first presidential use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. USMCA-qualifying origin does not exempt covered goods, and the annexes reach far beyond the named motor vehicle, alcohol and dairy sectors.